Educational Psychologist

 We are looking for an experienced Educational Psychologist to join our team at The Shires School for 2 days a week.

All staff work holistically with our young people to ensure their needs are met, whether this is in the classroom, their residence, or in therapeutic activities such as Occupational, Play, Music or Speech and Language therapy, or leisure and out–of-school activities, of which we offer a wide range.

Our multi-disciplinary teams work in partnership with each other and put our young people at the heart of everything they do. We now need a qualified Psychologist who understands the needs and difficulties of young people on the autistic spectrum who may also have associated communication needs, learning difficulties and challenging behaviour, to complement our therapeutic team

The Shires is part of the Acorn Care and Education Group, the second largest private sector provider of special needs education in the country operating 17 schools for children and young people who have a range of social, emotional and mental health needs and also pupils who have been diagnosed with autism or demonstrate behaviours associated with autism.

The Role
As the Educational Psychologist you will assess children's learning and emotional needs by observing and consulting with teams to advise on the best approaches and provisions to support learning and development. The ideal candidate will develop and support therapeutic and behaviour management programmes, as well as courses for parents, teachers and others involved in the education of the pupils.

Reporting to the principal you will develop and apply effective interventions to promote psychological wellbeing and social, emotional and behavioural development to raise educational standards. You will also be writing reports in order to make formal recommendations on actions to be taken.

Who we are looking for
We are looking for someone who has an understanding of how a diagnosis of autism can impact on learning and behaviour in young people. The ideal candidate will have an upper second-class honours degree in psychology and have experience working with children/young people.
The ideal candidate will adopt a child-centred approach at all times to promote independence and foster personal development.

Essential Criteria

• Experience of working with individuals with challenging behaviours.
• Experience of carrying out observations and collecting and analysing data in relation to behaviour.
• Registered graduate member of the British Psychological Society (or eligibility to join)
• Experience working as a psychologist with children or young people within an educational or therapeutic setting
• To be able to adopt a child-centred approach at all times to promote independence and foster personal development.
• Knowledge of effective strategies and interventions to support young people on the autistic spectrum

The Shires is committed to the safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All successful applicants will be subject to fully Enhanced DBS check.